Method and system for providing program preview of a particular program during channel changes via a gateway

ABSTRACT

A broadband gateway, which enables communication with a plurality of devices and handles at least one physical layer connection to at least one corresponding network access service provider, may be operable to receive one or more programs in preview formats from one or more program sources. Each of the one or more programs may be specified in a list. The programs specified in the list may be from different program sources. The broadband gateway may process the received one or more programs in the preview formats for presentation to one or more of the plurality of devices. The processed one or more programs in the preview formats may be communicated by the broadband gateway to the one or more of the plurality of devices, via a programming guide, for program preview by one or more users during program selections from the list.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This patent application makes reference to, claims priority to, andclaims benefit from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/351,696,which was filed on Jun. 4, 2010.

This application also makes reference to:

-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/355,377 filed on Jan. 16, 2009;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/355,413 filed on Jan. 16, 2009;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/355,480 filed on Jan. 16, 2009;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/395,383 filed on Feb. 27, 2009;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,321 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,355 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/981,971 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/981,933 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,216 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,433 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,205 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,353 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/981,966 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,453 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,172 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,429 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/981,990 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,442 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,000 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,010 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,022 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/981,986 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,236 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,091 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,213 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,166 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,340 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,073 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,501 filed on Dec. 30, 2010-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,206 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,440 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,171 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,223 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,305 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,477 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,331 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,036 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,196 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,391 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,405 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/981,753 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;    and-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,414 filed on Dec. 30, 2010.

Each of the above stated applications is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention relate to communication systems.More specifically, certain embodiments of the invention relate to amethod and system for providing channel changes via a gateway.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Telecommunication technologies have evolved from analog to digitaltechnologies, and continues to evolve from circuit switched to packetswitched, from connection oriented packet switching to connectionlesspacket switching, and from narrow band application to broadbandapplications. The accompanied evolution in telecommunicationtechnologies has significantly advanced operators' capability to offerbroadband, IP-based multimedia services ranging from entertainment andlifestyle applications such as mobile TV and mobile payment toprofessional services such as video conferencing and real-time dataexchange.

With the continuous growth of digital television or broadcastmultimedia, and/or broadband access, which may be used in conjunctionwith online businesses, social networks, and/or other online servicesand applications, users may desire having access to a larger number ofproviders and/or a broader range of content in a manner that is flexibleand/or suits the users' lifestyles. Most users connect to the Internetusing web browsers running on personal computers (PCs). Furthermore,most households may have one or more display devices that may be used toview television and/or multimedia broadcasts. Television broadcasts mayinclude terrestrial TV, Cable-Television (CATV), satellite TV and/orInternet Protocol television (IPTV) based broadcasts. To ensure againstunauthorized reception and/or use of TV and/or multimedia broadcast,service providers may require use of dedicated equipment such as set-topboxes (STBs) that may be used to encrypt broadcast signals communicatedfrom the service providers to generate suitable video and/or audiostreams that may be played via televisions and/or other display/playbackdevices in the household. Furthermore, STBs and/or TVs may supportInternet access. Thus, rather than using a computer to access theInternet, a user may find it more convenient to use the flat screentelevisions and/or monitors in home networks for the same purpose.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with the present invention as set forth inthe remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and/or method for providing channel changes via a gateway,substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at leastone of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.

Various advantages, aspects and novel features of the present invention,as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, will be morefully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communication systemthat is operable to provide channel changes via a gateway, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary broadband gatewaythat is operable to provide channel changes, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary programming guidefor program previews during program selections, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for providingchannel changes via a gateway, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention can be found in a method and systemfor providing channel changes via a gateway. In various embodiments ofthe invention, a broadband gateway, which enables communication with aplurality of devices and handles at least one physical layer connectionto at least one corresponding network access service provider, may beoperable to receive one or more programs in preview formats from one ormore program sources. Each of the one or more programs may be specifiedin a list. The broadband gateway may be operable to process the receivedone or more programs in the preview formats for presentation to one ormore of the plurality of devices. The processed one or more programs inthe preview formats may be communicated by the broadband gateway to theone or more of the plurality of devices for program preview by one ormore users during program selections from the list. In this regard, thebroadband gateway may be operable to generate and/or update the list forthe user(s) based on program usages history of the user(s) and/or inputsfrom the user(s). The broadband gateway may communicate the processedone or more programs in the preview formats to the one or more of theplurality of devices associated with the user(s) via a programmingguide, for example. The programming guide may comprise channelsassociated with programs on the list.

The at least one physical layer connection may comprise, for example, aplurality of physical layer connections and the at least onecorresponding network access service provider may comprise a pluralityof corresponding network access service providers. In this regard, eachof the plurality of physical layer connections may correspond to arespective one of the plurality of corresponding network access serviceproviders.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the broadband gateway maybe operable to receive the one or more programs in the preview formatsfrom one or more content providers and/or one or more network accessservice providers. The broadband gateway may also receive the one ormore programs in the preview formats from one or more other devicesamong the plurality of devices which are communicatively coupled to thebroadband gateway, for example. In an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, the one or more programs in the preview formats, which may bereceived for the processing, may be stored locally in the broadbandgateway.

The broadband gateway may be operable to communicate specificinformation to the one or more content providers and/or the one or morenetwork access service providers for receiving the one or more programsin the preview formats from the one or more content providers and/or theone or more network access service providers. In this regard, thespecific information may comprise, for example, CODEC usage, pictureresolution, frame bit rate and/or other characteristics associated witheach of the one or more programs in the preview formats. Duringcommunications or interactions between the broadband gateway and the oneor more program sources for receiving the one or more programs in thepreview formats from the one or more program sources, the broadbandgateway may be operable to utilize one or more specific protocols. Inthis regard, the one or more specific protocols may define standard dataformats for channel characteristics, network transport characteristics,video coding parameters, physical layer interface characteristics and/orpower requirements, for example.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communication systemthat is operable to provide channel changes via a gateway, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1, there is showna communication system 100. The communication system 100 may comprise abroadband gateway 102, a plurality of distribution networks 110, aplurality of devices 104 of which devices 104 a-104 d are illustrated, aplurality of network access service providers 120 of which networkaccess service providers 120 a-120 c are illustrated and a plurality ofcontent providers 130 of which content providers 130 a-130 c areillustrated. The devices 104 a-104 d may be serviced by the broadbandgateway 102.

A content provider such as the content provider 130 a may comprisesuitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operableto generate, capture and/or package content such as, for example,multimedia content that may be distributed to one or more of the devices104 a-104 d via one or more of the network access service providers 120a-120 c and the broadband gateway 102. The content or program may be,for example, downloadable or streaming, and/or rented or purchased. Inan exemplary embodiment of the invention, a content provider such as thecontent provider 130 a may be operable to provide, upon request from thebroadband gateway 102, a program in a preview format to the broadbandgateway 102. The program in the preview format may be further processedby the broadband gateway 102 to ensure that it is ready for presentationto a device such as the device 104 a during program selections by anassociated user such as the user 103 of the device 104 a.

A network access service provider such as the network access serviceprovider 120 a may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may be operable to provide services using different accesstechnologies to one or more of the devices 104 a-104 d for end-users viathe broadband gateway 102. The services may include, but are not limitedto, multimedia, television, Internet, phone, Ethernet, multimedia overcoax alliance (MoCA), passive optical network (PON), and/or cellularservices, for example. The network access service providers 120 a-120 cmay provide physical layer connections to the broadband gateway 102.Such physical layer connections may then be utilized by the broadbandgateway 102 to access content provided by the content providers 130, toaccess services provided by other service providers, and/or to access anintranet or the Internet at-large. In this regard, “network accessservice provider” as utilized herein, is distinguished from the moregeneric term “service provider” which may encompass services other thanproviding physical layer access. Cable television (CATV) providers,plain old telephone service (POTS) providers, digital subscriber line(DSL) providers, cellular service providers, WiMAX providers and/orsatellite providers are examples of the network access service providers120. In some instances, a network access service provider such as thenetwork access service provider 120 c may be a provider that providesboth content and services.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a network access serviceprovider such as the network access service provider 120 c may beoperable to provide, upon request from the broadband gateway 102, aprogram in a preview format to the broadband gateway 102. The program inthe preview format may be further processed by the broadband gateway 102to ensure that it is ready for presentation to a device such as thedevice 104 a during program selections by an associated user such as theuser 103 of the device 104 a.

The broadband gateway 102 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to provide an interface andconnectivity between one or more of the devices 104 a-104 d and one ormore of the distribution networks 110. For example, the broadbandgateway 102 may support configuring and/or using a plurality ofbroadband connections 108 to the distribution networks 110. Thebroadband connections 108 may comprise wired and/or wireless connectionsbetween the broadband gateway 102 and the distribution networks 110. Inthis regard, the broadband gateway 102 may be operable to perform and/orprovide various services that may pertain to enabling and/orfacilitating reception of content such as multimedia content from one ormore of the content providers 130 a-130 c. The content may be deliveredthrough one or more of the network access service providers 120 a-120 c.The broadband gateway 102 may communicate with various devices 104 a-104d using wired, optical and/or wireless communication links 106.

A single broadband gateway such as the broadband gateway 102 may beoperable to handle a plurality of physical layer connections to thedistribution networks 110, where different ones or portions of thedistribution networks 110 may be owned, operated, leased or associatedwith different ones of the network access service providers 120. Aphysical layer may refer to an open systems interconnection (OSI) layer1. In this regard, for example, a first network access service providersuch as the network access service provider 120 a may provide networkaccess to the broadband gateway 102 via a DSL connection overtwisted-pair cabling, and a second network access service provider suchas the network access service provider 120 b may provide network accessto the broadband gateway 102 via a cable television connection overcoaxial cabling. In some instances, the broadband gateway 102 may beoperable to concurrently communicate over the plurality of physicallayer connections provided by the plurality of network access serviceproviders 120 a-120 c.

The broadband gateway 102 may be located at a residential location suchas a home. The broadband gateway 102 may also be located innon-residential location comprising, for example, a commercial building,an office, an office complex, an apartment building and/or a factory.While the broadband gateway 102 may be illustrated as a single andseparate device in FIG. 1, the invention may not be so limited. In oneembodiment of the invention, some functionalities of the broadbandgateway 102 may be implemented in a distributed manner over two or moredevices locally and/or remotely. For example, some of thefunctionalities of the broadband gateway 102 may be implemented withinone of the televisions available in the home. Furthermore, the broadbandgateway 102 may be implemented as a virtual platform, for example.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the broadband gateway 102may be operable to receive or acquire one or more programs in previewformats from one or more program sources based on a list of a user suchas the user 103 who is associated with one or more of the devices 104a-104 d. The broadband gateway 102 may process the received programpreviews so as to be ready for presentation to an associated device suchas the device 104 a. The processed program previews may then becommunicated or presented to the device 104 a for program preview by theuser 103 during program selections from the list of the user 103. Inthis regard, a program preview may be received from, for example, acontent provider such as the content provider 130 a, a network accessservice provider such as the network access service provider 120 cand/or one of other devices such as the device 104 b. The programpreview to be processed may also be stored locally in the broadbandgateway 102.

A device such as the device 104 a may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to interact withthe broadband gateway 102. The devices 104 a-104 d serviced by, and/orconnected with the broadband gateway 102 may comprise content consumingdevices and/or non-content consuming household devices. For example, thedevices 104 may comprise a television, a set-top box (STB), a digitalvideo recorder (DVR), a laptop computer, a tablet PC, a smoke detector,a carbon monoxide detector, a security alarm, a desk top computer and/orserver, a mobile phone, a speaker, an AM/FM radio, a phone, and/or anappliance such as a refrigerator. The devices 104 a-104 d may interactwith the broadband gateway 102 via the links 106 utilizing various wiredand/or wireless communication technologies such as, for example,Bluetooth, LTE, WiFi and/or Ethernet. One or more of the devices 104a-104 d may be associated with a user such as the user 103.

In the exemplary embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1,although the devices 104 a-104 d communicate with only the broadbandgateway 102 as shown, the invention may not be so limited. Accordingly,the devices 104 a-104 d may communicate with multiple broadband gatewaysin a local or home network without departing from the spirit and scopeof various embodiments of the invention.

The distribution networks 110 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,communication devices, interfaces and/or code that may be operable toenable wireless and/or wired communication among a plurality of localand/or remote entities, based on one or more networking and/orcommunication infrastructures. In this regard, one or more of thedistribution networks 110 may be utilized to enable distribution ofcontent such as multimedia content generated by one or more of thecontent providers 130 a-130 c, via one or more of the network accessservice providers 120 a-120 c, to one or more of the devices 104 a-104d. The network connectivity available via the distribution networks 110may be based on one or more communication standards and/or protocols.The distribution networks 110 may comprise, for example, Internet, cabletelevision (CATV) network, satellite television (TV) network, wired orwireless local area network (LAN), wired or wireless wide area network(WAN), personal area network (PAN) and/or cellular network.

In operation, the broadband gateway 102 may be operable to generateand/or update the list for the user 103. The list of the user 103 may begenerated and/or updated automatically and/or periodically based onprogram usages history of the user 103, for example. In this regard, forexample, the broadband gateway 102 may adaptively and transparently keeptrack of programs viewed more often and at what times they are viewed.Based on the most often watched programs and the times at which they arewatched, the list may be generated and/or updated accordingly. The user103 may also manually add programs to the list and/or delete programsfrom the list, for example. The programs specified in the list may befrom different program sources. In this regard, the broadband gateway102 may be operable to receive or acquire one or more programs inpreview formats from one or more program sources based on the list ofthe user 103 who is associated with one or more of the devices 104 a-104d. The broadband gateway 102 may process each of the received one ormore program previews to ensure that it is ready for presentation to anassociated device such as the device 104 a. In instances when two ormore program previews are received, the broadband gateway 102 mayconcurrently process the received program previews. For example, thebroadband gateway 102 may configure program sources and/or decode thereceived program previews utilizing available resources. The processedprogram previews may then be communicated or presented to the device 104a via, for example, a programming guide, for program preview by the user103 during program selections from the list of the user 103. In thisregard, since the processed program previews are ready to be presentedbefore a channel change during the program selections and/or previews,the delays associated with steps in the channel change sequence may beavoided or reduced.

Once the user 103 makes a choice to watch a particular program after theprogram selections and/or previews, the processed program preview of theparticular program may be presented by the broadband gateway 102 via aregular or full channel associated with the particular program to thedevice 104 a. The processed program preview of the particular programmay be present via the regular or full channel for a short period oftime such as, for example, for a few seconds until the time at which thebroadband gateway 102 may establish or enable the presentation of theparticular program via the regular or full channel to the device 104 a.

A program preview or a program in preview format may be received by thebroadband gateway 102 from, for example, a content provider such as thecontent provider 130 a and/or a network access service provider such asthe network access service provider 120 c. In this regard, the broadbandgateway 102 may communicate or provide specific information to thecontent provider 130 a and/or the network access service provider 102 cso as to receive the program preview in an appropriate format. Thespecific information may comprise, for example, CODEC usage, pictureresolution, frame bit rate and/or other characteristics associated withthe program preview.

A program source may also be one of other devices such as the device 104b. In this regard, for example, the broadband gateway 102 may acquire orreceive a DVR playback stream from the device 104 b. The broadbandgateway 102 may then configure the DVR playback at a PAUSE position forpreview during the program selections, for example.

The program preview to be processed may also be stored locally in thebroadband gateway 102. For example, the program preview may bepreviously downloaded from the content provider 130 a and/or the networkaccess service provider 120 c, and stored in the broadband gateway 102for preview later during the program selections.

During communications or interactions between the broadband gateway 102and the one or more program sources for receiving the one or moreprogram previews from the one or more program sources, the broadbandgateway 102 may utilize one or more specific protocols. In this regard,the one or more specific protocols may define standard data formats forchannel characteristics, network transport characteristics, video codingparameters, physical layer interface characteristics and/or powerrequirements, for example.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary broadband gatewaythat is operable to provide channel changes, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown abroadband gateway 200. The broadband gateway 200 may comprise a providerinterface module 202, a processor 204, a memory 206, a client deviceinterface module 208 and a channel change module 210. The broadbandgateway 200 may be substantially similar to the broadband gateway 102 inFIG. 1.

The provider interface module 202 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to receive datafrom one or more network access service providers 220 a-220 b. Theprovider interface module 202 may also be operable to send data to oneor more network access service providers 220 a-220 b. The providerinterface module 202 may be operable to support multiple communicationprotocols, standards, and/or data transport technologies. The providerinterface module 202 may be communicatively coupled to one or morenetwork access service providers 220 a-220 b via one or more physicallayer connections 230 a-230 b. In this regard, each of the physicallayer connections 230 a-230 b may connect the broadband gateway 200 toone of different network access service providers 220 a-220 b. Each ofthe physical layer connections 230 a-230 b may comprise a wired, opticaland/or wireless connection. For example, the physical layer connection230 a may comprise a DSL over twisted-pair connection while the physicallayer connection 230 b may comprise a CATV over coaxial cableconnection.

The processor 204 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to process data received from thenetwork access service providers 220 a-120 b and/or the contentproviders 130 a-130 c and/or data received from one or more of thedevices 104 a-104 d. In this regard, the processor 204 may comprise oneor more portions that are suitable to handle certain types of data suchas video data and/or audio data, for example.

The channel change module 210 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to provide fast programpreviews during program selections from a list or program list by a usersuch as the user 103.

The memory 206 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may be operable to store data utilized in the operations ofthe broadband gateway 200. For example, the memory 206 may be utilizedto store configuration data, parameters, device information, trackingand/or monitoring information, security information, and intermediateprocessing data, for example. In an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, the memory 206 may store program preview content which may bedownloaded from a content provider such as the content provider 130 aand/or a network access service provider such as the network accessservice provider 120 c. The memory 206 may comprise storage mediaintegrated in the broadband gateway 200 and/or a removable storagedevice.

The client device interface module 208 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to send data toone or more of the devices such as the devices 104 a-104 d in a local orhome network. The client device interface module 208 may also beoperable to receive data from one or more of the devices 104 a-104 d inthe local or home network. The client device interface module 208 may beoperable to support multiple communication protocols, standards, and/ordata transport technologies.

In operation, a broadband gateway such as the broadband gateway 200 mayprovide connections and/or interfaces for various devices such as thedevices 140 a-140 d to distribution networks such as the distributionnetworks 110. The channel change module 210 in the broadband gateway 200may be operable generate and/or update the list or program list for theuser 103. The channel change module 210 may be operable to receive oracquire one or more programs in preview formats from one or more programsources based on the list of the user 103 who is associated with one ormore of the devices 104 a-104 d. The channel change module 210 mayprocess the received one or more program previews to ensure that theyare ready for presentation to an associated device such as the device104 a. For example, the channel change module 210 may configure programsources and/or cause decoding of the received program previews. Theprocessed one or more program previews may then be communicated orpresented by the channel change module 210 to the device 104 a via, forexample, a programming guide, for program preview by the user 103 duringprogram selections from the list of the user 103.

As soon as the user 103 makes a choice or selection to watch aparticular program after the program selections and/or previews, theprocessed program preview of the particular program may be presented bythe channel change module 210 via a regular or full channel associatedwith the particular program to the device 104 a. The processed programpreview of the particular program may be present via the regular or fullchannel for a short period of time such as, for example, for a fewseconds until the time at which the processor 204 in the broadbandgateway 200 may establish or enable the presentation of the particularprogram via the regular or full channel to the device 104 a.

A program preview or program in preview format may be received by thechannel change module 210 from, for example, a content provider such asthe content provider 130 a and/or a network access service provider suchas the network access service provider 220 a. In this regard, thechannel change module 210 may communicate or provide specificinformation to the content provider 130 a and/or the network accessservice provider 220 a so as to receive the program preview in anappropriate format. The specific information may comprise, for example,CODEC usage, picture resolution, frame bit rate and/or othercharacteristics associated with the program preview.

The program preview may also be received by the channel change module210 from one of other devices such as the device 104 b. In this regard,for example, the channel change module 210 may acquire or receive a DVRplayback stream from the device 104 b and put the DVR playback at aPAUSE position for preview during the program selections by the user103, for example.

The program preview to be processed by the channel change module 210 mayactually be stored locally in the memory 206. For example, the programpreview may be previously downloaded from the content provider 130 aand/or the network access service provider 220 a, and stored in thememory 206 for preview later during the program selections by the user103.

During communications or interactions between the broadband gateway 200and the one or more program sources for receiving the one or moreprogram previews from the one or more program sources, the processor 204may utilize one or more specific protocols. In this regard, the one ormore specific protocols may define standard data formats for channelcharacteristics, network transport characteristics, video codingparameters, physical layer interface characteristics and/or powerrequirements, for example.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary programming guidefor program previews during program selections, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown aplurality of programs in preview formats such as program A preview 310,program B preview 302, program C preview 303, program D preview 304and/or program E preview 305. Each of the plurality of programs may be aprogram on a list of a user such as the user 103 who is associated withone or more of the devices 104 a-104 d. During program selections, acurrent channel showing, for example, the program C preview may beviewed by the user 103 via a programming guide as illustrated by theprogramming guide 310 a. A newly selected channel showing, for example,the program A preview may be viewed by the user 103 via the programmingguide as illustrated by the programming guide 310 b.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the channel change module210 in the broadband gateway 200 may be operable to concurrently processacquired or received program previews such as the program A preview 301,the program B preview 302, the program C preview 303, the program Dpreview 304 and the program E preview 305, as illustrated by thereference labels 1-5. During program selections from the list by theuser 103, the channel change module 210 may communicate or present theprocessed program C preview 303 a, which is associated with a currentchannel, to an associated device such as the device 104 a via theprogramming guide 310 a, as illustrated by the reference label 6. Achannel change from program C to program A may be performed by thechannel change module 210 during the program selections, as illustratedby the reference label 7. The channel change module 210 may then presentthe processed program A preview 301 a, which is associated with thenewly selected channel, to the device 104 a via the programming guide310 b, as illustrated by the reference label 8. In this regard, sincethe processed program A preview 301 a has already been processed by thechannel change module 210 and is ready to be presented before thechannel change, the delays associated with steps in the channel changesequence may be avoided or reduced.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for providingchannel changes via a gateway, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. Referring to FIG. 4, the exemplary steps start at step 401.In step 402, the channel change module 210 in the broadband gateway 200may be operable to generate and/or update a list or program list for auser such as the user 103. In step 403, the channel change module 210may be operable to receive or acquire one or more programs in previewformats such as, for example, the program A preview 301, the program Bpreview 302, the program C preview 303, the program D preview 304 and/orthe program E preview 305, from one or more program sources. The one ormore programs such as the programs A, B, C, D, E may be specified in thelist of the user 103. The user 103 may be associated with one or more ofdevices such as the devices 104 a-104 d. In step 404, the received oneor more program previews may be processed by the channel change module210 for presentation to an associated device such as the device 104 a.In step 405, the channel change module 210 may communicate or present aprocessed program preview such as the processed program C preview 303 a,which is associated with a current channel during program selections, toan associated device such as the device 104 a via, for example, aprogramming guide such as the programming guide 310 a. In step 406, achannel change may be performed by the channel change module 210 duringthe program selections. In step 407, the channel change module 210 maycommunicate or present a processed program preview such as the processedprogram A preview 301 a, which is associated with a newly selectedchannel during program selections, to the device 104 a via, aprogramming guide such as the programming guide 31 b.

In step 408, Once the user 103 makes a choice to watch a particularprogram associated with the newly selected channel, the channel changemodule 210 may communicate or present the processed program preview ofthe particular program, such as the processed program A preview 301 a,via a regular or full channel associated with the particular program tothe device 104 a. The processed program A preview 301 a may be presentedvia the regular or full channel until the time at which the particularprogram is ready for presentation via the regular or full channel to thedevice 104 a. The exemplary steps may proceed to the end step 409.

In various embodiments of the invention, a broadband gateway 102, 200may enable communication with a plurality of devices 104 a-104 d and mayhandle at least one physical layer connection to at least onecorresponding network access service provider. In this regard, forexample, the at least one physical layer connection may comprise aplurality of physical layer connections 230 a-230 b and the at least onecorresponding network access service provider may comprise a pluralityof corresponding network access service providers 220 a-220 b. Each ofthe plurality of physical layer connections 230 a-230 b may correspondto a respective one of the plurality of corresponding network accessservice providers 220 a-220 b.

A channel change module 210 in the broadband gateway 200 may be operableto receive one or more programs in preview formats from one or moreprogram sources. Each of the one or more programs may be specified in alist. The channel change module 210 may be operable to process thereceived one or more programs in the preview formats, such as theprogram A preview 301, program B preview 302, the program C preview 303,the program D preview 304 and/or the program E preview 305, forpresentation to one or more of the plurality of devices 104 a-104 d. Theprocessed one or more programs in the preview formats, such as theprocessed program C preview 303 a and/or the processed program A preview301 a, may be communicated by the channel change module 210 to one ofthe associated devices, such as the device 104 a, for program preview bya user such as the user 103 during program selections from the list. Inthis regard, the channel change module 210 may be operable to generateand/or update the list for the user 103 based on program usages historyof the user 103 and/or inputs from the user 103. The channel changemodule 210 may communicate or present the processed one or more programsin the preview formats, such as the processed program C preview 303 aand/or the processed program A preview 301 a, to the device 104 a via aprogramming guide such as the programming guide 310 a or 310 b, forexample. The programming guide may comprise channels associated withprograms on the list.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the channel change module210 may be operable to receive the one or more programs in the previewformats from one or more content providers 130 a-130 c and/or one ormore network access service providers 220 a-220 b. The channel changemodule 210 may also receive the one or more programs in the previewformats from one or more other devices among the plurality of devices104 a-104 d which are communicatively coupled to the broadband gateway200, for example. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the oneor more programs in the preview formats, which may be received for theprocessing, may actually be stored locally in the memory 206 in thebroadband gateway 200.

The channel change module 210 may be operable to communicate specificinformation to the one or more content providers 130 a-130 c and/or theone or more network access service providers 220 a-220 b for receivingthe one or more programs in the preview formats from the one or morecontent providers 130 a-130 c and/or the one or more network accessservice providers 220 a-220 b. In this regard, the specific informationmay comprise, for example, CODEC usage, picture resolution, frame bitrate and/or other characteristics associated with each of the one ormore programs in the preview formats. During communications orinteractions between the broadband gateway 200 and the one or moreprogram sources for receiving the one or more programs in the previewformats from the one or more program sources, the processor 204 in thebroadband gateway 200 may be operable to utilize one or more specificprotocols. In this regard, the one or more specific protocols may definestandard data formats for channel characteristics, network transportcharacteristics, video coding parameters, physical layer interfacecharacteristics and/or power requirements, for example.

Other embodiments of the invention may provide a non-transitory computerreadable medium and/or storage medium, and/or a non-transitory machinereadable medium and/or storage medium, having stored thereon, a machinecode and/or a computer program having at least one code sectionexecutable by a machine and/or a computer, thereby causing the machineand/or computer to perform the steps as described herein for providingchannel changes via a gateway.

Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software. The presentinvention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least onecomputer system or in a distributed fashion where different elements arespread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind ofcomputer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methodsdescribed herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware andsoftware may be a general-purpose computer system with a computerprogram that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computersystem such that it carries out the methods described herein.

The present invention may also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directlyor after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

While the present invention has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention willinclude all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for communication, the methodcomprising: in a broadband gateway that enables communication with aplurality of devices, wherein the broadband gateway is operable tohandle at least one physical layer connection to at least onecorresponding network access service provider: receiving one or moreprograms in preview formats from one or more program sources, whereineach of the one or more programs is specified in a list; processing theone or more programs for presentation to one or more of the plurality ofdevices; communicating the processed one or more programs to the one ormore of the plurality of devices for program preview by one or moreusers during program selections from said list; and utilizing one ormore specific protocols during communication between the broadbandgateway and said one or more program sources for receiving the one ormore programs in said preview formats from said one or more programsources, wherein the one or more specific protocols define standard dataformats for channel characteristics, network transport characteristics,video coding parameters, physical layer interface characteristics orpower requirements.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the atleast one physical layer connection comprises a plurality of physicallayer connections and the at least one corresponding network accessservice provider comprises a plurality of corresponding network accessservice providers, and each of the plurality of physical layerconnections corresponds to a respective one of the plurality ofcorresponding network access service providers.
 3. The method accordingto claim 1, comprising generating or updating said list for the one ormore users based on a program usage history of the one or more users orinputs from the one or more users.
 4. The method according to claim 1,comprising communicating the processed one or more programs to the oneor more of the plurality of devices via a programming guide, wherein theprogramming guide comprises one or more channels associated with the oneor more programs on the list.
 5. The method according to claim 1,comprising receiving the one or more programs from one or more contentproviders.
 6. The method according to claim 1, comprising receiving theone or more programs from one or more network access service providers.7. The method according to claim 1, comprising receiving the one or moreprograms from one or more other devices among the plurality of devices.8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more programs arestored locally in the broadband gateway.
 9. The method according toclaim 1, comprising communicating specific information to one or morecontent providers or one or more network access service providers forreceiving the one or more programs from the one or more contentproviders or the one or more network access service providers, whereinthe specific information comprises CODEC usage, picture resolution,frame bit rate or another characteristic associated with each of the oneor more programs.
 10. A system for communication, the system comprising:one or more processors, one or more circuits, or any combination thereofconfigured for use in a broadband gateway that enables communicationwith a plurality of devices, the broadband gateway being operable tohandle at least one physical layer connection to at least onecorresponding network access service provider, and the one or moreprocessors, one or more circuits, or any combination thereof configuredto: receive one or more programs in preview formats from one or moreprogram sources, wherein each of the one or more programs is specifiedin a list; process the received one or more programs for presentation toone or more of the plurality of devices; communicate the processed oneor more programs to the one or more of the plurality of devices forprogram preview by one or more users during program selections from thelist; and communicate specific information to one or more contentproviders or one or more network access service providers for receivingthe one or more programs from the one or more content providers or theone or more network access service providers, and the specificinformation comprises CODEC usage, picture resolution, frame bit rate orother characteristics associated with each of the one or more programs.11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the at least one physicallayer connection comprises a plurality of physical layer connections andthe at least one corresponding network access service provider comprisesa plurality of corresponding network access service providers, and eachof the plurality of physical layer connections corresponds to arespective one of the plurality of corresponding network access serviceproviders.
 12. The system according to claim 10, wherein the one or moreprocessors, one or more circuits, or any combination thereof areoperable to generate or update the list for said one or more users basedon a program usage history of the one or more users or inputs from theone or more users.
 13. The system according to claim 10, wherein the oneor more processors, one or more circuits, or any combination thereof areconfigured to communicate the processed one or more programs in thepreview formats to the one or more of the plurality of devices via aprogramming guide, and the programming guide comprises channelsassociated with the one or more programs in the list.
 14. The systemaccording to claim 10, wherein the one or more processors, one or morecircuits, or any combination thereof are configured to receive the oneor more programs from one or more content providers.
 15. The systemaccording to claim 10, wherein the one or more processors, one or morecircuits, or any combination thereof are configured to receive the oneor more programs from one or more network access service providers. 16.The system according to claim 10, wherein the one or more processors,one or more circuits, or any combination thereof are configured toreceive the one or more programs from one or more other devices amongthe plurality of devices.
 17. The system according to claim 10, whereinthe one or more programs are stored locally in the broadband gateway.18. A non-transitory computer readable medium having a program that,when executed by processing circuitry, causes the processing circuitryto: receive one or more programs in preview formats from one or moreprogram sources, wherein each of the one or more programs is specifiedin a list; concurrently process the one or more programs forpresentation to one or more of a plurality of devices; communicating theprocessed one or more programs to the one or more of the plurality ofdevices for program preview by one or more users during programselections from said list; and communicate to the one or more programsources, via one or more specific protocols, standard data formats forchannel characteristics, network transport characteristics, video codingparameters, physical layer interface characteristics or powerrequirements.
 19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim18, wherein the program, when executed by the processing circuitry,causes the processing circuitry to further: communicate specificinformation to the one or more program sources, wherein the specificinformation comprises CODEC usage, picture resolution, frame bit rate orother characteristics associated with each of the one or more programs.20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein theprogram, when executed by the processing circuitry, causes theprocessing circuitry to further: generate or update the list for the oneor more users based on a program usage history of the one or more usersor inputs from the one or more users.